The British Kitesurfing Wave Championships were held at Gwithian on Saturday 23rd September.28 competitors from across the country were greeted to blazing Cornish sunshine, cross offshore wind and 2-3 feet of surf.In the Pro Men category Lee showed a dominant performance to retain the British Champion title he has held since 2013.

Riding the 2018 North Neo 9m paired with the new Clickbar and Pro Wam, Pasty blitzed the field scoring 19 out of a possible 20 in the final with one judge awarding a 10 point ride!

If you want to learn to wave ride with a kite or improve your kitesurfing skills, Pasty is running Wave clinics in Cornwall this autumn with the Intro to Wave on the 7th October and Wave Improver on 4th November.

​The 2017 Edge Cup & British Kitesurfing Foil Championships took place over the weekend of 20 – 21st May in Exmouth hosted by 5 x World Champion Steph Bridge and the Edge Watersports team.Over 30 entrants from all round the country including 1 German, 3 Frenchmen and 1 Irish lady gathered on the beach to battle out across 2 fleets, Pros and Ams.With grey skies and light winds I hit the water using the Aero Ultralight 17m and Ketos Foil Race2, ready for 3 races back 2 back. Unfortunately as the 5 minute signal sounded it started raining and everyone ended up getting rescued as the wind completely vanished.It wasn’t long before the sun came out and the wind was back at 12- 15 knts perfect for the Aero UL 14m on 18m lines. I hit the first start perfectly and was instantly please with my pointing and speed rounding the windward mark in 5th not too far behind the front 4 who are all ranked inside the top 15 in the World. All was going good until the last leg of the 3 lap windward leeward course when a small mistake allowed the 3 French guys past before the finish.Race 2 and I made it around the first mark in front of Olly Bridge riding the new Flysurfer Sonic Race 15m. One of the best moments for me was managing to hold Olly off downwind until just before the mark where he overtook and went onto win while I comfortably kept hold of 5th with no mistakes. This gave me great confidence going in for lunch knowing my kites and foil is as fast as the best in the World.The sun continued to shine for the afternoon and the sw breeze picked up although also became very gusty going from 18 – 22 knts. I went for the Aero UL 11m for the 3 races back 2 back.My speed was still very good at the front of the chasing pack for most of the races but fatigue was starting to set in on my legs and too often I made a mistake on the last leg to lose my 5th spot.

​Sunday and the weather was much nicer with glorious sunshine and a southerly 12-15knt breeze perfect for the Aero 14. Three races in the morning followed by 3 races in the afternoon, we had some great racing and I enjoyed some great battles with the 3 Frenchmen. Holding 5th place after 2 laps in nearly all races I again made too many mistakes on the last downwind legs or into the finish to end up 8th Overall in the Edge Cup.

Happy with achieving my goal of 4th in the British Championship and with the speed of the kites and foil, it’s now time to train more to improve my leg stamina so I don’t make any mistakes at the next event.

Thanks to Steph and the Edge Watersports crew for running a great event and my sponsors for the great kit – Ketos Foils, Peter Lynn, ION & Pasty Adventures

Surfer's ear is a common condition affecting the hearing of those who go in the sea regularly. Whether this for surfing, swimming or kite surfing they are all at risk of surfer's ear if they don't take precautions. The body reacts to the cold by forming tiny bony nodules around the opening of the ear. These slowly grow over the next few years, narrowing the opening. This leads to conductive deafness and a higher rate of ear infection in sufferers. To avoid this they need to protect themselves.Having not used protection, the only treatment for the condition is surgery. The extra bone is chiselled or drilled away by a surgeon under local anaesthetic. ZenPlugs wanted to find out how often surfers needed to have the operation. They carried out a survey of 203 avid surfers who were contacted using social media and a hospital staff newsletter. Surprisingly, in this group 6% of the surfers had the operation at some point in their lives. This comes to 1 and 17 surfers. Several of them had even had it more than once. Having the operation does not protect against the condition coming back if protection is not used.The research also showed that wearing surfing earplugs and a surfer's neoprene cap more than 90% of the time prevented the condition.Summary. One in 17 surfer's have had their ears chiselled or drilled. If you don't want to be one of them wear your surfer's cap and ear plugs more than 90% of the time.

Our private lessons have been very successful with the use of the new BBTalkin 2 way headsets. This has greatly improved the speed of learning and all the students that have used them have been extremely happy with some great feedback.We are using them on all private beginner lessons and coaching sessions. Check out our full range of courses here.

This year we are also using the new North Mono 1 strut kite which has really impressed us with its ease of use and water relaunch. The light weight also means it has lots of power for its size and well as being super friendly in the small sizes. For 2016 we have the full range of North Neos, Evos and Mono kites ensuring we have the right tools for the job.

We are also pleased to now be using ION products in the school and Lee has signed on to the UK Team. Check out the full range at www.ion-products.com

With summer approaching now is the time to start getting to grips with Foiling and maximise your water time while experiencing one of the greatest thrills you can get on the water. We are please to be one of the only fully qualified and insured kite schools in the UK to teach Kite Foiling and with Marazion and Mounts Bay we have one of the greatest locations for Hydrofoiling in the World. Check out our Foil lesson packages here

Our recent coaching holidays in Dakhla, Morocco were without doubt our best yet. First up we had the Lagoon camp from 21st Feb - 1st March on which we had 6 fun guys. After the morning brief and preparation of action plans, it turned out we had 3 groups of 2 to work on similar goals which was perfect. The wind blew everyday from dawn to dusk and with the Dakhla Spirit camp providing the best possible setting, it enabled the coaching to run at the best times according to the activity. At low tide we worked on freestyle tricks in our on private flat water area or carves and turns both on twin tips and surfboards out in the lagoon, including the use of video coaching. When the tide came up we ran group sessions on jumping or follow my leaders in perfect waist high water. Kites used were everything from 12m on the first morning down to 6/7m kites the rest of the time. Being based at the camp, also meant that the guys could take a break whenever they wanted and still learn at the same time by watching the others. During downtime I also managed to sneak in a few Kite Foil sessions and hit a top speed of 34.1 mph riding a Sector and Rebel 9m one windy lunch time.The vibe at the camp in the evenings was great with some good Moroccan food and a few beers during evening theory sessions and daily debriefs.Well done to all for a great week and learning lots. Also thanks for the great feedback :)Check out some of the pics from the Lagoon Camp-

The Wave Camp ran the following week 28th Feb - 7th March and again had six people. Two from the previous week camp on the lagoon with the other four flying in. For this camp we stayed in town at the Dakhla Spirit Surf House which is the perfect base for the amazing wave spot of Oum Laboiur.Starting off on Sunday morning with a brief and action plans we then had an perfect little wave session for everyone to warm up and get used to the spot. Following on from this we were blessed with perfect 2-4 ft waves and wind everyday, so much so that the guys even needed a morning off half way through. On two mornings we went back to the lagoon to run some footwork and flat water exercises while we waited for the tide to push up and make the wave even better. The spot is just so good and with no one there (the most we had were 2 windsurfers and 3 other kiters on one occasion), it really is the best place to improve your Kite Wave riding. In the evenings we had great food at the house and watched back the video from the day. Mornings were early surfs followed by theory or general feedback from the previous day.

"Lees enthusiasm for wind and water is relentless, his skill and experience exceptional. Hes been a great mentor for chasing the best waves from sun-rise to sun-set, giving unlimited attention and pushing you further. Its been great to be a part of his trip, and 'its on' for the next one." Jason, Dakhla Wave Camp.

Dates are now out for this autumns Kitesurf Wave Clinics at Gwithian or Marazion. Starting off we have the Intro to Wave on Saturday 11th October. This clinic is for kiters who are new to surfboard riding and want to learn the techniques to get out there and start riding waves.

Easter Clinic 2014

The Wave Clinic on the 18th October is for kiters who are already comfortable riding a surfboard and are looking to perfect their technique in the waves. Price is only £60 per clinic, max 6 people with coaching from British Champion, Lee 'Pasty' Harvey. Click here for all the details.

﻿Join us on a Pasty Adventure Kitesurf Coaching Holiday in Dakhla, Morocco this winter.Book before 1st October and recieve a 10% discount.Dakhla is the perfect place to perfect your kitesurfing skills with constant winds giving perfect conditions. Dakhla Lagoon is perfect for upping your level on a twin tip or getting used to riding a strapless surfboard while the perfect right hand point break of Oum Laboiur is one of the best places in the world for kite wave riding.For all the details click on our Holiday page or go straight to www.pastyadventures.co.uk/dakhla﻿

Joining forces with North Kiteboarding UK we attended the Junior National Watersports Festival held at Stithians Lake, Cornwall on the 3rd May 2014. Along with demoing all the new North equipment, Pasty Adventures ran free Kitesurf Taster sessions to the future generation of British watersports entuaiasts. Over the course of the day, we had four groups of 8-16 year olds who all left grinning and smiling after experiencing the fun of flying a kite.Hopefully some of these will take up kitesurfing in the future, or one of the other sports they got to try out over the weekend. It was great to be a part of it and see so many brands and pros giving their time to encourage youngsters into our fabulous sports of Kayaking, Kitesurfing, SUP and Windsurfing. Well done to all the organisers for a great event.

Lee 'Pasty' Harvey was recently out in Qatar coaching their National Kiterace Team in preparation for the Asian Championships which they are hosting in November. Check out the report and pics on Lee's blog- http://www.leepasty.co.uk/blog.html

What a great Easter and start to the kitesurfing season here in Cornwall. Sunshine and wind made for great conditions for three days over the holiday period, all be it a little chilly at times.We ran two full beginner kitesurf courses with all four people doing amazing well and getting up riding on the board. On Easter Sunday BKSA Wave Coach, Lee 'Pasty' Harvey ran a Intro to Wave Clinic which saw novice surfboard riders learning lots to be getting on and practicing over the coming months in preperation for the autumn wave season. A big well done to everyone involved in fairly cold challenging conditons.

Overall a great weekend and we are really happy with all our new kit for the 2014 season especially the new North Evo which we are using for beginner lessons and winter wetsuits from O'Neill which kept all our students nice and warm.

With good winds forecast all week and the water much warmer than last year it looks like we are going to have a great summer for Kitesurfing in Cornwall and with Pasty Adventures being the only British Kitesports recognised school in West Cornwall there's no better place to learn.Get in touch to book your kitesurfing lessons now. Stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for all of our upcoming Kitesurf Clinics and news.